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Peter Erben, IFES senior global electoral adviser, is a leading authority on electoral management and the strengthening of democratic institutions. Erben currently works out of Indonesia, where he is also country director for IFES and senior adviser to the election commission. He has held similar positions in Pakistan, Nepal and Palestine.

Erben is one of few international experts ever called upon to direct national elections for other nations.

He served as the chief electoral officer of Afghanistan during the country's 2005 parliamentary and provincial council elections. Previously, he directed two out-of-country elections: the 2004 Afghan presidential election for Afghans living in Pakistan and Iran, and the 2005 Iraqi parliamentary elections for Iraqis living in 14 countries worldwide, including Sweden, Syria, Jordan and the U.S.

He was the associate director of elections and the director of elections for the first two post-conflict elections in Kosovo in 2000 and 2001, respectively. In both Afghanistan and Kosovo, Erben was also a member of the election commission. From 1996 to 2000, Erben was part of managing the first four post-conflict elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving as OSCE's chief of staff in the final two years. Between longer assignments, Erben conducted missions to Myanmar, Libya, Iraq, Egypt, South Korea, Malaysia, Lebanon, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Georgia, among other nations.

In 2005, Erben received Afghanistan's Ghazi Mir Bacha Khan Superior State Medal; in 2008, he was knighted in Denmark for contributing to the advancement of democracy worldwide.

Erben is Danish and graduated from Copenhagen Business School. He is a guest lecturer at Harvard and other universities.